Hello, I am sorry if this has been addressed before, but I couldn't find anything on it.

I have well, a great deal of scars on my arms.
I wonder if the Japanese would see treat this situation the same as tattoos?
I could easily say they are from a car accident but in all reality they are old self inflicted scars from my teenage years.
I have no tattoos, so do you think a Japanese person would be accepting of me? (or less accepting of me because of it)

I think if I went to study abroad I'd say it's a car accident.
Do you think they'd know?

I know mental disorders and stuff like this is widely accepted in America and other countries but I just wonder how I should act about this when I get to Japan.

Thanks so much for your input!